


Instant Crush

by potat



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Highschool AU, brief mention eumotophobia, brief mention of substance abuse, it is really brief i swear, like when i say brief, the others are just mentioned, white rose is the main thing here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-06
Updated: 2014-01-06
Packaged: 2018-01-07 18:56:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1123216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potat/pseuds/potat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>House parties were a thing Ruby Rose tended to avoid. They were loud, packed to over spilling with obnoxious, steaming strangers with leering eyes and drunken words. The lights were always too bright or too fast in their sequence change, epilepsy only a foot around the corner. The music was always, always so poor, the beat too fast, the bass too simple, existing purely to throb in her ears and split her head in two. However a desperate situation called for a desperate solution.</i>
</p><p> </p><p>Sometimes people just need to escape and sometimes others are just lonely.<br/>Maybe a bit OOC<br/> <br/>A oneshot, Highschool AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Instant Crush

**Author's Note:**

> _And we will never be alone again_  
>  'Cause it doesn't happen every day  
> Kinda counted on you being a friend  
> Can I give it up or give it away  
> Now I thought about what I want to say  
> But I never really know where to go  
> So I chained myself to a friend  
> 'Cause I know it unlocks like a door  
> Daft Punk - **Instant Crush**
> 
>  
> 
> **IF ANYONE CAN TELL.ME HOW TO EMBED LINKS I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER**

House parties were a thing Ruby Rose tended to avoid. They were loud, packed to over spilling with obnoxious, steaming strangers with leering eyes and drunken words. The lights were always too bright or too fast in their sequence change, epilepsy only a foot around the corner. The music was always, always so poor, the beat too fast, the bass too simple, existing purely to throb in her ears and split her head in two. However a desperate situation called for a desperate solution. This particular shindig was run by one of Yang’s friends. Or was it one of Yang’s friend’s boyfriend? More likely Yang’s friend’s friend’s boyfriend. The social group expanding from the cheer squad was simply too big to picture mentally –though an accurate metaphor was found in the crammed house in front of and around her.

Ruby would so much more have preferred to be at the house of someone she knew, bottles being passed around, cigarettes in crooked hands, a joint circling the group. The music would be present but subdued and almost every song they’d all be singing along. Also, another bonus, at least her friends kept their head with substances. Penny would even go so far as to make the choice between drugs and alcohol between stepping through the front door, vowing to stick to the one in order to avoid a scene much like one currently in the bathroom, someone being gently slapped awake, vomit crusting the side of their face. Yang explained there was a ‘system’ in place, and the captain of the football team would be taken onto the pavement and an ambulance would be called from there so the party wouldn’t be broken up. Despite the loss of a prominent social figure, the party didn’t appear to have sobered at all. Ruby’s nose wrinkled up in distaste at the lack of compassion and tugged on Yang’s sleeve, having stuck by her sister through the evening so far. “I’m going to the bathroom.” She half shouted in the blonde’s ear. Yang’s fingers, brightly adorned with various rings, brushed her arm as she enquired after Ruby’s state. “I’m fine, Yang. It’s just a bit… much.”

With that she headed upstairs, jumping a poor attempt at a stair-block. She found the upper floor empty, the darkness of the hallway, the muffled music from downstairs a significant difference. She found she could even breathe, thank god. She opened the nearest door, finding the bedroom of - judging by the flags and posters adorning the wall – the host. A few trophies were on a desk of drawers, the ajar wardrobe spilling out with jeans and bright t-shirts. It was surreal, being sat alone in the bedroom of a stranger, Ruby mused as she positioned herself on a desk chair. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she swiped the screen to find a message from Jaune. She grit her teeth and put the phone back into the tight pocket of her skinny black jeans. She rolled up her sleeves, crossed her arms over the back of the chair, rested her head on top of them. She groaned. Jaune and Pyrrha, together since the beginning of high school, had been experiencing some romantic turbulence of late. Ruby, being one of Jaune’s closest friends, had listened to his side, had listened to Pyrrha’s side, had run back and forth between the two. She’d been listening to them, been the tear-stained shoulder for two heads to rest on. She was sick of it. The emotional ruin her friends were in was rubbing off on her and she needed a break. That was kind of the reason she was in the damn house in the first place; to find different people, to take a break from a friendship group which was currently in a very tense place.

Heels clicked down the hallway and Ruby looked up, eyes shining as she hoped to god whoever it was passed by swiftly. White blonde hair caught her eye as the person rushed by, glancing over her shoulder with discomfort just as she passed the door. Blue eyes caught onto Ruby’s in a split second and a finger was pressed hurriedly to full lips as the girl vanished from sight. Ruby knew her, but couldn’t place her –surprising, seeing as how the girl had sent Ruby’s heart into a faster rhythm almost instantly. The heels continued down the hallway and a door clicked shut, locked. A few moments later, two guys, a drunken stupor clinging to their minds, swaying their arms with more force as they ascended the stairs, lumbered by. They were laughing loudly to each other as they peeped into different rooms. “Princess!” one of them called out, his acne-ridden face wrinkling as he grinned wolfishly. “Come on out, princess!”

The other guy, sporting a tattoo (which was definitely obtained illegally) on his neck, laughed with a snort, gripping the banister for extra support. “Yeah, come out, princess! Princess lesbian!” Acne turned to his friend, Tattoo, laughing at the pun only the two of them seemed to get as Ruby sat in confusion. As Acne passed by the door, Tattoo popped his head into Ruby’s room and she tensed up. His bleary eyes found her. “You wouldn have happene’ to see a…” he paused to think, rummaging through his addled brain, “a girl come up here?” Ruby shrugged, shaking her head.

He nodded, looking away then stumbled off, slurring to Acne about how the girl had apparently not come upstairs. There was a grunt of acknowledgement and the two headed back downstairs. Ruby rolled her eyes; of course when she escaped upstairs other people would start moving up as well.

Soon the muffled music was filling her ears again, the quiet of the upper level a surrender to the thunder downstairs. She wondered if Yang was worried. Ruby’s phone buzzed again in her pocket but she didn’t move to retrieve it. She just wanted a break, a simple day off from everyone else’s problems, everyone else’s worries. She sighed, wiped her eyes which had for one reason or another clouded with tears. Ruby wondered if Yang had found Blake yet. Aside from Pyrrha, Blake was the only one of Yang’s friends Ruby got along with. And by get along with, it wasn’t even that Blake was ‘one of Yang’s friends’. She was Ruby’s friend in her own right, and, knowing the girl, Ruby doubted she’d be here. She was probably of the same social standing as Ruby; they were both on the tennis team, both at the top of their game and yet neither of them enjoyed this overcrowded social scene. But because of their looks being above average (Blake was a beauty as far as Ruby was concerned, but herself she ranked at above average) they were still passed the odd whisper about something or another going on in someone’s house/a field. It was kind of flattering, but mostly annoying.

Ruby sighed, stewing a few more moments in her social dilemma until her ears caught the edge of a sound. She remembered then that the white haired girl from before was still upstairs. The chair creaked as she stood, exited the room. There was sobbing coming from the bathroom and Ruby steeled herself. She didn’t want to hear anyone else’s problems. She clenched a fist. She did not want to hear anyone else’s problems. She did not.

And yet the sobbing persisted.

Before she realised what she was doing, Ruby had knocked on the door. The sobbing stopped. “H-hey, are you okay in there?”

“Piss off.”

That was a familiar voice and a familiar tone. Ruby racked her brain, trying to place the voice, the face, those startlingly blue eyes and how lonely they looked.

“Don’t I know you?” Silence from the bathroom, “Uh, you might not remember me… I kind of had to think for a moment there, but um… It’s me, the girl on the tennis team. We… occasionally run into each other on the tennis court?” Silence persevered. “I’m the one who was begging you to join the team.”

“Oh, you.” A light chuckle came from the bathroom. “Nice talking to you again. Piss off.”

Ruby sighed, a small smile on her face despite herself. “Yeah… Okay.” She tried. What more could she do? Ruby turned on her heel, walking back down the hallway, sliding down onto the stairs. The lights glimmered off the wall facing her and she could see the silhouettes walking by. Ruby sighed, placing her cheek on her hand, a slight pout to her lips. The crying hadn’t picked up again. She scuffed her shoe against the staircase, rocking back onto the palms of her hands, head tilted to the ceiling. What could someone as brazenly ferocious, controlled, as that girl be crying about? After having seen her play, Ruby had been both smitten and impressed. From what she could tell, she excelled in all her classes, had a house bigger than this one. She was someone, and yet stayed as far from social situations as she could be permitted. That of course was harder said than done, considering her academic, financial and social status, but now that Ruby thought she was surprised she hadn’t recognised the girl immediately. Not only all of that but her naturally white-blonde hair and radiant beauty did stand out. Hers wasn’t a soft kind of beauty, nor entirely elegant. There was a smoothness to her jaw, a plumpness to her lips, but her cheeks were jagged, her physique almost entirely lines. She wasn’t stereotypically beautiful, but she was stunning. Those expressive eyes were always so sad. But damn if Ruby could just remember her name…

A door unlocked and heels came back down the hall. Ruby looked around to see the white-haired girl sat next to her. Upon seeing Ruby’s confusion, she gave an explanation. “It’s horrific down there. They’re all down there schmoozing and lying.” The girl grimaced, almost as if a memory had struck her. Ruby nodded in agreement.

 

“Yeah. They’re all dancing around and being fools, it’s sort of morbid. None of them are really enjoying themselves… Well, some might be. But it doesn’t seem genuine.” Ruby groaned. “I passed up the opportunity to be with actual friends this evening. I am so dumb.”

“Why aren’t you with them?” a tinge of jealousy pricked the curious voice.

Ruby flicked a dismissive wrist. “Relationship problems causing tensions etc. Things have kind of…” she shrugged, “You don’t want to hear about it.” She shifted to look at the girl, back against the wall. The blue-eyed beauty did the same, bannister between her shoulder blades, head tilted back ever so slightly. “Do you have anywhere you could be?”

The girl shook her head. “Unless I want to be back home with my father and his disgusting friends. All of them, grown men, talking about how they could make me happy. Talking about how a little marriage ceremony could benefit my inheritance. Chasing after me. I caught one trying to slip something into my drink once, you know.” She shuddered, her perfect eyebrows pulling up in disgust, “Money isn’t as great as some might think.”

“Well, I don’t know about that… I could do with a five string bass.” Ruby stated, her eyes crinkling with her teasing smile.

“Ha! Yeah, I could do with my bridge and pickup being sorted out.” The girl mused to herself, shaking her head. “My strat took a bit of a fall the other day but my parents are being obnoxious about it. I have to pay for repairs because they want me to focus more on a ‘classical’ instrument.” She rolled her eyes.

“I kinda had to buy my bass in the first place, so… My dad was like ‘you have to look after it, you have to buy everything, you have to clean up after it, you have to take it on walks’. So I was all like ‘Dad, it’s a bass, not a dog’.” Finally the girl beside her laughed. She held out a hand.

“Weiss.”

“Ruby.” They shook, grinning at each other (well, Ruby grinned, Weiss had this reserved little smile which couldn’t quite hold back her sudden cheer). Their hands remained together for a moment longer than normal before they fell away. “If you play, we could jam some time. That’d be great! Then maybe you could join the tennis team?” Ruby wriggled her eyebrows in an exaggerated fashion. Weiss barked a bitter laugh.

“Jamming I could do. Sport? Not so much.” Her perfect chin tilted away, her melancholy directed to the lights on the wall, the splayed silhouettes of downstairs, “I already have too much attention here. You saw those two guys before.”

“Acne and Tattoo? Yeah, I saw that.”

“Those can’t be their real names.”

“Nah, I just didn’t know what they were. So I gave them nicknames. Fitting, yeah?” Ruby chuckled. “But what was that they were saying? Princess Lesbian?” Weiss groaned, shutting her eyes, again as if she were trying to wipe her mind clean.

“Yes. Urgh, it’s so dumb. Because I don’t give any of them my attention, they assume it’s because I’m gay. I mean they’re just all so good looking, it must be that.” Weiss added with a faraway look, exasperation and sarcasm running venomously from her tongue. The exaggerated vowels set her lips to work and Ruby could only stare. “Like, yeah, it doesn’t help their assumption’s correct, but for totally different reasons than they might think.”

“Reasons?” Ruby managed. Weiss shot her a confused frown.

“Well yeah, if it’s biological or something, I don’t know. It’s not anything else. I think, at least.” Ruby nodded, comprehension dawning. “But yeah. Sucks.”

“Tell me about it.” Ruby muttered, rubbing her arm. There was a moment of silence downstairs as there was a break between songs. The moment the beat picked up again, it was harder and faster than before, the floor beneath the two throbbing violently. “No.” Ruby moaned, recognising the simplistic melody, the tacky vocals starting along the horrific lines. The dismay grew as people began singing along. “Do they even know what the lyrics mean?” Ruby exclaimed, eyes wide with disgust. Beside her, Weiss was clenching her jaw as if a foul taste was in her mouth.

“Come on, let’s move.” Weiss muttered, standing, brushing down her skirt. And were her legs to die for. Ruby stumbled to her feet, following the girl into the bedroom she’d been in only a few minutes before. Weiss was already scrabbling around on the desk, looking for something. “If you see any speakers, tell me. We can put on some _music_.” Ruby chuckled at that, looking around herself. Her own musical taste was pretty eclectic so she could only hope she wouldn’t be frowned upon and discarded by her new companion. Eventually there was success, and following the wire revealed the speakers were cleverly positioned on top of the wardrobe and around the room in otherwise hard to reach areas. Ruby whistled at the impressive bulk of the sound system.

“Bet you this room is also pretty good for acoustics.” She commented, taking in the layout.

“At least this person has some sense.” Weiss said drily, pulling her phone from her pocket, connecting her phone to the accessible sound desk, tucked in a drawer of the desk. “Some good sense.” She mumbled, taking in the make name, mentally noting down the product details. “Anything you’re particularly into?” she asked Ruby who’d sat down on the messy bed, looking a tad uncomfortable again in a stranger’s room.

“I like loads of things… whatever you’re into.” If Yang was there, her ears would’ve been full of the blonde screaming victoriously “that’s what she said”. She exhaled a small laugh as the smoother bass, the punchier lines filled the room. ‘She’s cute, funny and she’s got good music taste’ Ruby thought with a smile. Weiss turned around, a smug smirk on her face upon seeing Ruby’s ecstatic face.

“Thought you’d like this. Got a bit of a knack for guessing, one might say.” She winked, lips parting to display white teeth. She sat on the bed beside Ruby, cross-legged and facing her. “So.” A bass amp under the bed made the frame murmur with movement. The melody speakers positioned around the bed filled their ears. 

“What now?” Ruby shrugged in response.

“Well, we could either get into some deep, meaningful conversation or keep putting down our peers downstairs.” Weiss snickered, swiping a strand of hair from her eyes with a deft wrist.

“Yeah, we could…” she hummed along to the song for a bit and both girls found their eyes closed in bliss as they listened. Ruby found her fingers dancing along a fictional fretboard, her head bobbing enthusiastically. She toned it down immediately, glancing towards Weiss, hoping the girl hadn’t noticed. However what she found was Weiss, chewing her lip, patting along on her knee, humming along, murmuring the lyrics past those lips. One of them began singing louder, and the other joined in. Soon they were facing each other, fists raised as they sang along, Ruby maybe not getting the note right on cue, but the sound still being too perfect to ignore. Weiss harmonised flawlessly, and Ruby could hear the vibrato in her tone, the operatic lessons she must’ve had, those perfect notes and higher. Her strong, strong voice filled the room and they were grinning like morons.

Eventually the track changed and Ruby jumped in excitement.

“No fucking way!” she crowed, bouncing from foot to foot. “You listen to them? Oh my god, marry me.”

Weiss stared at her, a nonplussed smile on her face.

“Okay then, maybe not marry me, but let’s dance! This song is so great, it gets me every time, like wow.” With no further ado, she began singing along, that blissful smile on her face again. A subdued, smooth movement took her, rocking her hips through her legs, up her torso. Weiss watched for a moment; the moves may not have been particularly intricate, but the girl certainly did have a sense of rhythm. The girl’s head bobbed with a bassist’s nod, biting her own smiling lips. Ruby was surprised when Weiss did actually get up, joining her in closer proximity than expected. The white haired girl’s voice joined Ruby’s, little intricacies she must have worked on when listening alone adding, and so close, so intimate in front of Ruby.

“I hope you’re happy.” Weiss’ face was closer than Ruby would have guessed, glowing blue eyes half closed, arms raised as she herself rocked with the flow, “I don’t dance for many.” Ruby’s body echoed and complimented the movement of the girl, the girl she didn’t really know. The girl who’d shown her impatience at the intricacies of a flawed society, discarded a popularity so readily available because she recognised how wrong it was. The girl who’d much rather be on her strat with operatic vocals than subdued to a business suit and background deals. The girl with the skill and the talent and the flaws. Ruby felt her heart plummet to join the throbbing bass on the floor, reverberating through her bones, shaking her deep inside. She’d never crushed on someone quite so fast. Her heart found her chest again when Weiss’ hips met hers. A blush flooded her face instantly.

“Um…”

“You said you understood how much it sucked when people discarded you for your sexuality.” Weiss’ voice was only a whisper, “I’m not normally the instigator, but you certainly are something.”

Ruby gulped, smiled, as they kept moving, kept in time, kept dancing, rocking against each other. “Yeah, I did. And no, you are something.” Their hips met again and this time held, not quite forceful enough to be considered grinding, but when her hands found Weiss’ sides, it certainly did seem to gain a touch more flavour. “And here’s me thinking we’d get along really well platonically.”

“We could.” Weiss agreed, gyrating her lower body more, the tips of their noses brushing, her words whispering with heat over Ruby’s lips. “We could do that. But didn’t you say you were having trouble with friends?” Ruby shook her head gently with a smile. Perceptive.

“You haven’t told me much about yourself.” Weiss rolled her eyes, crossing her arms behind Ruby’s head. In this light, Ruby could see a scar sliver down past her right eye, along the perfect cheek.

“Chased after. Adored. Attention where it isn’t wanted. Built up to be perfect. There isn’t much else to say.”

“Then why were you crying in the bathroom?” Ruby breathed, lips pressing against the side of the girl’s neck.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Weiss shot back, her body leaving Ruby’s, arms pulled back. The song ended. The break picked up with a definite change of pace and suddenly neither of them were quite in the mood to dance. Weiss sighed, sitting back on the bed. “That was a bit brutal.”

“Only a tad.” Ruby agreed with a joking attitude, immediately trying to leaven the tension. “No, it’s fine. We just met, technically. We don’t have to be all fast like the people downstairs, if you don’t want to be.”

“But we might never have a chance to be like this again.” Weiss mumbled, a frown on her face. “I want to do something dumb with someone. A nice person. You fit the bill, and it wouldn’t even feel dumb the next day.” She raised her legs to her chest, looking away and Ruby saw that sadness in her again, reverberating through her soul and out through those expressive, icy blue eyes. “I haven’t been so relaxed around someone. I’m telling you this in confidence that you’re not some jerk here to screw me over.”

“Excuse you, I was upstairs first. If anything, you’re here to do the screwing.” Ruby teased and Weiss laughed. The laugh was cut short by a choking sob.

“I’m sorry.” Weiss whispered into her knees, her voice hitching. “You’re so nice. I don’t know what it is.” She sniffed, “I just thought… I don’t know. I’ve known you for an hour or so. This isn’t fair on you.”

“Well hey, as I said, we don’t have to do anything. No-one says we do. I’m not forcing you, you’re not forcing you and you're not forcing me, so we can just keep chilling here or something. Like… you really could tell me why you were crying. I’m not here to be some jerk or anything. That’s what everyone downstairs is here for. Except my sister. And potentially Blake.”

“Blake Belladonna?”

“Yeah, do you know her?” Weiss smiled a watery smile to herself, finally, finally looking back up to Ruby.

“I had the biggest crush on her last year, it was insane. But she’s dating that Xiao Long girl everyone’s talking about, the cheerleader.”

“My sister, yeah. They’re pretty cute together I think.” Ruby added, watching Weiss’ reaction with amusement. Ruby laughed as Weiss looked away in embarrassment, her face flushing. She reached out a hand, patting the girl on the back. “Maybe next time, yeah?” Weiss giggled herself.

“You truly are something, aren’t you?” Before Ruby could say anything, Weiss continued, “I was crying because I’m lonely. That sounds so dumb when said out loud, but… I don’t know.” She let her knees down, the moonlight from the open window catching on the buckle of her belt, glimmering against her skin. “Like… Do you ever feel that plummet? Not even a drop, just… like your insides just aren’t there because your heart hurts so damn much? And then you forget how to smile?” she laughed again, but this time it sounded so pained Ruby was shaken. Without speaking she pulled the girl into her arms, holding her as Weiss continued to ramble on. “You’re supposed to be so perfect and so brilliant that you just end up surrounded with things as fake as you. I’ve not seen many genuine smiles, and it was so great. You didn’t know who I was! Do you know how much that got me? You were laughing and talking because I’m a person! Not because I’m Weiss Schnee.” She inhaled shakily, her chest rising, falling, tears rolling from her eyes. “I’ve never felt like a person before. And I want to thank you, but I don’t have anything to thank you with. I’m not… I have nothing.” Her words ended abruptly, cut so short Ruby wondered for a ruining moment if the girl had vanished, died there in her arms. She sounded so close to the edge, so close to giving up the ghost compared to a moment ago. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t ever be sorry for being alone.” Ruby mumbled, only realising she was crying when the salt water rolled past her lips. “Don’t ever be sorry.” Don’t ever be sorry this world hurts so much and people are so painful and cruel. Don’t be sorry for finding happiness, for being so excited. Don’t be sorry for finally being free and not knowing what to do with your freedom; it’s overwhelming at first and you want to do it all, but you have plenty of time. Don’t be sorry for finding that time, and don’t be sorry for being a person. The unspoken words echoed around the room.

Somehow their lips met, somehow they were lying with Weiss on top. Somehow their tops slid to the floor, not quite naked in front of each other, but having had a heart born so plainly, they were beating raw around each other anyway. They didn’t need to touch in that instant to be intimate, but they did anyway. Shaking, cold hands traced skin, holding on to the moment. Lips met and lips parted, only to meet again. They didn’t do anything they didn’t need to and in that moment all they needed was not to be alone. No-one found their way in, no-one interrupted. It was only when they were lying together, someone’s top on the floor and someone’s on the bed, forehead’s touching, hands held, legs entwined that Ruby felt her phone buzz in her pocket. The personalised beat reminded her of the party downstairs and her sister probably looking for her. “Do you want to come back to mine? Like, just to talk and stuff. Or maybe if you want to do stuff, I don’t mind, but like we should talk or something and get to know each other, like that’s pretty important too.”

Weiss smiled a soft smile at the rambling girl in front of her. Her fingers fiddled with Ruby’s, stroking the slightly rougher skin, though not much different from her skin, hardened by strings. She counted the freckles visible on the right shoulder, propped up from the bed. She watched those silver eyes dart between hers waiting for a response. “Yeah.” She answered softly, “I would. As I said… we might not have a chance to be like this again.”

**Author's Note:**

> just a small break from Ludenberg Lounge, I'm getting back on it now


End file.
